Our Church likes to be part of IMPOSSIBLE stuff. What’s the use in living your life achieving everything that is EASY! 

In 2007, C3 Crawley began supporting C3 Global’s East Africa initiative. The aim was to gather & partner with local pastors and leaders, give them training, support and friendship – with the bold goal of changing these nations from the inside out. AN IMPOSSIBLE TASK! If U2’s Bono can’t do it...how could we tackle such a mission.

When it comes to our sister churches in Gulu, we don’t just post videos and attend rallies for change – WE GO! Gillian, Ash, Jon, Shauna & Darren...are all going! We will help run a Pastors & Leaders Conference in Kampala Uganda which will be attended by ministers from Uganda, Congo, Tanzania, Kenya & Burundi. Then we will head north and spend time with our C3 Churches in Gulu. Two weeks of hard work...we can’t wait!

So, our C3 Crawley East Africa team depart for Uganda this weekend. Get along to church THIS Sunday as the team share their life stories of how God has impacted them. Good for you to hear & be inspired...good for them to practice...mutual benefit!

See you this Sunday 9.30am C3 Church Crawley.

Darren Hultgren

Senior Minister

Water baptism is a pretty freaky spiritual ritual – second only to speaking in tongues! So what is water baptism all about?

“And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have been made like Him”. Galatians 3:27 

As we approach our C3 Crawley Church Picnic & Water Baptism this Sunday 4th March (9.30am Manners Hill Reserve, Lilla St, Peppermint Grove) the key word in the verse above is “baptism”. The actual meaning of the word is “immersion”.

Paul is basically asking us to be fully immersed in Christ. The sacrament of water baptism illustrates this by the display of water “wrapping itself around us and soaking itself into us completely”. Water baptism is a powerful metaphor of how much God loves us through Christ and conversely how dedicated He wants us to be IN Him. The water represents our envelopment in God’s love; it represents our being immersed in Christ’s death (Romans 6:3-5); and being raised to “new life” as Christ was/is. It is a symbolic event, practically recreating what Christ has already achieved for us.

When we accept the waters of baptism, we are practically saying publically – “I accept Christ as my Lord & Saviour – in Him I am new”. Pretty cool really.

Whilst we may have been baptised some time ago, we need to be reminded of the freedom God has given us through Jesus. We need to be at the park on Sunday CHEERING the new baptism candidates on and being refreshed anew of where we stand in God’s sight – we are blessed! (Eph 1:3)

See you on Sunday at the park...

Ps Darren & Jenelle

January 2012

THE REAL MEN BOOSTER

Always be early and you’ll never be late. Phil Pringle

Constantly being late brings disappointment to the person waiting for you, giving them the impression that they are not valued by you.

If you have been one of those guys with a track record of constantly being late, make a decision & commitment today to change & be on time.
Make the decision – I will be 5 mins early for all appointments tomorrow.

Then turn punctuality into a life habit.

RealMen Conference
3 & 4 August 2012

for more info: click here

Newsflash Chirstmas Lovers!

In recent news Cottesloe residents have voiced their complaints about NO festive spirit in their suburb last month (Post Newspaper 14/1/12 pg.12)...

... makes me excited just reminiscing. 

May 2009 has been our Holy Spirit month at C3 Crawley. We are very aware that the Spirit is our everyday connection with the Almighty God – the Spirit IS God!

One of the goals for our church is that we would see 50+ people filled with this Spirit in such a way that they speak in tongues for the first time. Speaking in tongues is not like a Scouts badge – some form of achievement – instead it is simply an intimate method of prayer. As we have made space in our services this month for the Holy Spirit to minister to us and through us, many people have been abundantly blessed.

Here is a testimony from one of those meetings:

The two questions I get asked the most are:

1. How do I walk with Christ in a more powerful way?

2. I don’t know what to do with my life – where do I go for direction?

These are questions not easily answered. Short clichés rarely suffice. I can say that the best way to address them is to speak with the One who knows.

I am aware that prayer is a discipline. But the practice of prayer is one that reaps unlimited rewards. We discover that our inadequacies are more than compensated for by Christ’s abundance. As God spoke through the writer of Chronicles, “If my people would humble themselves…and pray…I will…” (2 Chron 7:14). God promises action when we act. God responds to faith-filled action.

'One of the giant redwood cedars of California, is 270 feet high, and weighs 6,300 tons. It came from a seed weighing three thousandths of an ounce'.

Hanging out in the playground as I minded this great kid, the question hammered my heart more than ever of why does bad things happen to good people? This kid I was minding had a drug-addict for a Mother and child petefile for a Father. Both parents had been arrested several times and this poor little guy had been chucked in the backseat during armed robberies, faced the full brunt of his Mother’s addiction and his Fathers immorality. With all this rushing through my mind this little boy starts telling me that he’s a superhero like all these Bible characters and how God is the one that gives him all the strength. At almost 10 years old, he’d seen so much hurt yet had so much faith.

Have you ever seen a beautiful sunset and not been able to sit still until you go and get someone you love to share it with. The beauties of life are best when they’re shared with those you love. Like when people get married and have kids to share in all the good stuff of family so God made us to share in His awesomeness. In this awesome whirl of majesty God creates the Heavens and the Earth in what we rather blandly call creation and the pinnacle of his wondrous work, was us. Walking in paradise with Adam and Eve God got to hang out with those he loved like any loving Father loves hanging out with his kids.

For those of us who aren’t really the science whizz it’s easy to just assume that those much smarter than us have developed super theories that must be in conflict with belief in God. I can’t help but wonder where this stereotype came from.

The first core origins of science came from Christian roots. Science arose out of a belief of a rational God and therefore for His creation to make sense.  The greatest scientific discoveries of our time have been made not by skeptics but by great Christian minds that publically devoted their work to the glory of God. Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, Galileo, Michael Faraday and Leonardo DaVinci we’re not only renowned as scientists but influential Christians; they were powerful men of faith. As a great man of faith Albert Einstein once said “I want to know Gods thought, the rest are just details”. As a rock founder of modern science who shaped the very views we say oppose God saw science as merely the details of how God made such an awesome creation.

You may not be able to verbally express the pain you feel inside, and for you, cutting is the only option. You are not alone. Jesus also was in such pain and anguish, he actually SWEAT blood!

After leaving his disciples, Jesus walked away and knelt down and prayed, “Father if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

The cup of suffering Jesus was referring to was this: Jesus knew in a very short amount of time he would be handed over to die for the sins of all mankind!
In your agony, you CAN pray just as Jesus did! Look at this passage: It says Jesus prayed in agony of spirit. Even if you can't tell anyone how you are feeling right now, God knows your heart and your pain.

What else can you do?

First, believe that God knows you better than you know yourself. Know that at any time you are angry, you can pray silently and ask for his help even when there are no words. Ask him to show you how to express what you are feeling when the time is right.

Second, understand that as far as blood is concerned, Jesus shed his blood as a sacrifice for you. When Jesus died on the cross, he said, “It is finished!” He paid the penalty of death for your sin and my sin. Guilt no longer has a place in your life if you believe that Jesus took your sins upon himself on the cross.

Christians are all hypocrites!

This is a common objection stated by people justifying why they would never contemplate Christianity. In part it is true – some Christians have been known live opposite to the Gospel they preach. History has many occurrences where bad things have been done in the name of Christianity. We must remember though that plenty of bad things have been done in the name of medicine too – but that doesn’t mean we don’t ever go near a doctor again!

Quote - 'Leading is primarily paying attention.' - Lincoln On Leadership, Executive Strategies for tough times, By Donald T. Phillips, Warner Books, 1992, P24

Quote - 'Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.' - Vince Lombardi

Quote - 'Gratitude is the mother of all virtues.'

As I look around at all the people coming to church today, I see in each one an amazing story. God has done wonders in a life there; and created beauty from ashes in another over here. He has not only redeemed our souls, but given our lives an amazing reason for being.

It reminds me of a familiar but old story:
A man is sitting on his porch in Kentucky. He's just retired from the post office. His first Social Security cheque arrives. He's very, very discouraged. He thinks, "Is this my life now - sitting on the porch waiting for my cheque?"